Parasaurolophus
Parasaurolophus (name meaning "Near-Crested Lizard"), or often called Parasaurs for short, is a genus of herbivorous ornithopod hadrosaur dinosaur that originated during the Late Cretaceous period in what is now North America. Related to Iguanodon and Edmontosaurus and instantly recognizable due to the elongated cranial crest on its head, Parasaurolophus grew 10 meters in length and weighed over 3 tons. It lived in herds to protect it from predators such as Deinosuchus and Albertosaurus. Like all hadrosaurus, it walked both on all four legs and ran on just two. In the episode "Lake Primal", a number of six Parasaurolophus were brought back to the park from Late Cretaceous Texas 75 million years ago. They reside in the Hadrosaur Springs enclosure with other fellow hadrosaurs. Facts Era & Discovery Parasaurolophus lived during the Late Cretaceous in North America from 76–65 million years ago, living up until the end of the Mesozoic when the dinosaurs died out. They shared their environments with other hadrosaurus, like Edmontosaurus, the ceratopsian dinosaurs, Ankylosaurus, and was also preyed upon by the raptor dinosaurs, Deinosuchus, and the large Tyrannosaur family. Parasaurolophus was first described in 1922 by William Parks. It is one of the rarer hadrosaurids, known from only a handful of good specimens. William Parks named the specimen in honor of Sir Byron Edmund Walker, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Ontario Museum. Since its discovery, Parasaurolophus has become one of the most popular dinosaurs in media and art, thanks to its distinctive head crest. Physical Attributes Parasaurolophus was a relatively large dinosaur, with adults measuring around 30–36 feet (9–11 m) in length, standing 12 feet (3.7 m) tall at the hips and weighing in at 5–6 tons. The cones, or crests, on the top of their heads were brightly colored and Parasaurolophus used them for display. As another member of the hadrosaur family, a common group of dinosaurs at the end of the Late Cretaceous, Parasaurolophus was a herbivore that walked both as a biped and a quadruped. Parasaurolophus spent most of their time on all four legs and ran very fast on just two legs and only ran bipedally to move fast in order to get away from danger. Like their Asian cousin Saurolophus, they had got duck-bills for grinding vegetation. Parasaurolophus is known for its large, elaborate cranial crest, which at its largest forms a long curved tube projecting upwards and back from the skull. The crest has been much discussed by scientists; the consensus is that major functions included visual recognition of both species and sex, acoustic resonance, and thermoregulation. Behavior & Traits Like all hadrosaurs and other herbivorous dinosaurs, Parasaurolophus lived in large herds of dozens, even hundreds of individuals. They were said to use their long crests as to form communication between members of the herd. Parasaurolphus, at the very least the juveniles, where curious creatures as well, as they didn't seem too afraid when they met Allen and Rebecca. Gallery imagesCA4FDSQR.jpg Parasaurolophusdrinking.png imagesCA1QHC02.jpg CROCODILE_ATTACK.jpg Sports Day Parasaurolophus Sand.png Microsoft-Edge-Web-Notes-Доисторич457273109.jpg Microsoft-Edge-Web-Notes-Доисторич300492656.jpg ImagesCA6EOWW7.jpg Trivia *The sound effects of Parasaurolophus are that of camel, moose, geese, and an unknown trumpeting sound for their calling sound. *''Parasaurolophus ''was the second hadrosaur brought back to the park. Category:Prehistoric Animals Category:Dinosaurs Category:Reptiles Category:Cretaceous Dinosaurs Category:Cretaceous Wildlife Category:Hadrosaurs Category:Most Famous Prehistoric Creatures Category:Ornithopods Category:Herbivores